Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the volume of paperwork that livestock farmers are required to complete and what measures it will take to amend the sheep tagging scheme to a compulsory tagging only scheme when stock leaves a farm.

Ross Finnie: My department is already working to reduce the burden of paperwork on farmers. Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department forms and guidance are regularly reviewed to ensure that unnecessary questions are deleted and remaining questions simplified; all Common Agricultural Policy subsidy forms are scrutinised by a panel of farmer and industry representatives before being finalised.

  The current system of sheep tagging was introduced in February 2002, following the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, with the full support of the industry in Scotland. It does not require tagging to take place until the time of the first move. The EC has since published proposals for a new system which includes tagging within one month of birth. I am committed to working towards changes to the EC proposal which are closer to our existing system in Scotland.

Agriculture

George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been raised as a result of modulating subsidy payments to farmers in the Highlands and Islands area in each of the last three years.

Ross Finnie: The first payments to farmers to be modulated were in late July 2001. Accordingly the amounts raised in the Highlands and Islands area over the last three calendar years were as follows:

  


Year 
  

Modulation Raised (£ million) 




2001 
  

0.741 
  



2002 
  

1.842 
  



2003 (to end May only) 
  

0.376 
  



Total 
  

2.959

Agriculture

George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the money raised by modulating payments to farmers in the Highlands and Islands area has been reinvested in that area in each of the last three years, broken down by type of enterprise.

Ross Finnie: Modulation receipts, although raised in particular areas, are spent on an all-Scotland basis, but I can assure you that all money raised in this manner will be spent over the lifetime of the programme.

  Modulation commenced in July 2001, and the amounts spent in the Highlands and Islands area over the last three calendar years were as follows:

  


Year 
  

Modulation Spent (£ million) 


Match Funding (£ million) 


Total Spent (£ million) 




2001 
  

0.237 
  

0.088 
  

0.325 
  



2002 
  

1.074 
  

0.356 
  

1.43 
  



2003 (to end May) 
  

0.31 
  

0.103 
  

0.413 
  



Total 
  

1.621 
  

0.547 
  

2.168 
  



  To date, all money has been spent on agri-environment measures. The balance of receipts still available will be spent over the coming years and of course new commitments will be entered into in forthcoming application rounds.

Anti-Social Behaviour

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether residential properties used by local authorities to locate offices, to provide services or to house individuals in their care can be the subject of anti-social behaviour orders and what the range of penalties is for failure to comply with such orders.

Ms Margaret Curran: Anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) were introduced by section 19 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. They can be used to address anti-social behaviour by individuals wherever it occurs, so long as the anti-social conduct is not against persons of the same household as the individual named on the application.

  Under section 22(1) of the 1998 Act, breach of ASBO is a criminal offence for which the penalties are up to six months imprisonment or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both on summary conviction and up to five years imprisonment and an unlimited fine or both on indictment.

Education

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to address any shortage of new modern languages teachers and, in particular, there being no probationers in modern languages allocated to the Aberdeenshire Council area for the 2003-04 academic year.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive carries out an annual teacher workforce planning exercise. As part of that exercise a twice yearly survey of the vacancies in education authorities is carried out. The results of the 2002 survey do not indicate a particular shortage of modern language teachers.

  Newly qualified teachers are not the only means by which local authorities can fill vacant posts. There are other sources such as those who will be seeking a permanent job after having completed the Teacher Induction Scheme this year, returners to the profession and supply teachers seeking permanent posts.

Environment

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that more effective action is taken by Scottish Power plc in respect of Longannet Power Station and by BP plc in respect of the petrochemical complex at Grangemouth with regard to reducing toxic pollution.

Allan Wilson: The Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2000 (PPC) introduce more stringent controls on industrial processes. The impact of the PPC Regulations on the Longannet and Grangemouth facilities will take effect from 2006, when the combustion and refining sectors are due to transfer to the new PPC regime. Both sites are also subject to the EC Large Combustion Plant Directive and will in due course require to comply with the amended and tighter requirements of that directive.

Fisheries

Campbell Martin (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it would normally expect (a) the Crown Estate, (b) Scottish Natural Heritage, (c) the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and (d) North Ayrshire Council to notify it of plans such as those being proposed by Lakeland Marine Farms Ltd to establish three cod farms off the north coast of the Isle of Arran and what the reasons are for the position on this matter.

Allan Wilson: With any proposals which are likely to have a significant effect on the environment, due to their nature, size or location, the Crown Estate is obliged to consult the Executive and the other organisations referred to under the terms of the Environmental Impact Assessment (Fish Farming in Marine Waters) Regulations 1999.

Football

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West): To ask the Scottish Executive how much public money has been given to football clubs that are members of the Scottish Premier League and for what purpose.

Mr Frank McAveety: Sportscotland has made awards from the Lottery Sports Fund to members of the Scottish Premier League as set out in the following table:

  


Programme 
  

Organisation 
  

Project Description 
  

Award 
  



Capital 
  

Motherwell Football and Athletic Club Ltd 
  

Reinforced natural grass pitch 
  

£164,000 
  



Dundee United FC 
  

Upgrading of artificial playing surface 
  

£120,000 
  



Total 
  

£284,000 
  



Sports Ground Safety 
  

Dunfermline Athletic 
  

New East and West Stands 
  

£1,000,000 
  



Dundee Football Club 
  

East and West Stands 
  

£1,000,000 
  



Total 
  

£2,000,000 
  



Football Academies 
  

Rangers Football Club 
  

Training Centre and Youth Academy Project 
  

£500,000 
  



Total 
  

£500,000 
  



Grand Total 
  

£2,784,000

Fuel Poverty

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many households are in fuel poverty and what criteria it uses to define fuel poverty.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: According to the 1996 Scottish House Condition Survey, 738,000 households in Scotland were estimated to be in fuel poverty.

  The definition for fuel poverty is "a household is in fuel poverty if, in order to maintain a satisfactory heating regime, it would be required to spend more than 10% of its income (including Housing Benefit or ISMI (Income Support for Mortgage Interest)) on all household fuel use".

Fuel Poverty

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of households living in fuel poverty contain older people.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: According to the 1996 Scottish House Condition Survey, 332,000 pensioner households were estimated to be in fuel poverty out of a total number of 738,000 households estimated to be in fuel poverty.

Joint Ministerial Committees

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how often each joint ministerial committee has met since being established and whether any new initiatives are planned in respect of these committees.

Mr Jack McConnell: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-33586 on 20 February 2003. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

  The position has not changed since then. The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government about future meetings.

National Lottery Funding

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much national lottery funding has been allocated in total and per head of population in each postcode area of Glasgow.

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much national lottery funding has been allocated in total and per head of population to non-national organisations in each postcode area of Glasgow.

Mr Frank McAveety: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-621 on 17 June 2003. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Prison Service

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give details of each default notice received under paragraph 46 of the Minute of Agreement Between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Kilmarnock Prison Services Ltd for the Design, Construction, Management and Financing of a Prison at Kilmarnock , including the date on which each notice was received and the nature of each default.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  There have been no such notices.

Prison Service

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-286 by Cathy Jamieson on 3 June 2003, what conclusion has been reached in respect of the notice received on 30 January 2003 under paragraph 6.8 of the Minutes of Agreement between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Kilmarnock Prison Services Ltd for Design, Construction, Management and Financing of a Prison at Kilmarnock .

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-286 by Cathy Jamieson on 3 June 2003, whether it will give full details of the notice received on 30 January 2003 under paragraph 6.8 of the Minute of Agreement between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Kilmarnock Prison Services Ltd for the Design, Construction, Management and Financing of a Prison at Kilmarnock , including (a) the effective date of the notice, (b) the risk insured, (c) the extent of the insurance, (d) the insured sum, (e) the premium, (f) any excess requested by the previous insurer for a replacement policy, (g) details of any proposal the contractor made in the notice to mitigate, manage and control such risks and (h) details of any financial resources available to the contractor to meet any claim made against it in respect of such risks.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  No action was necessary. Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited subsequently advised that they had obtained and placed insurance cover.

Prison Service

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-286 by Cathy Jamieson on 3 June 2003, whether it will give details of any waiver by it of the contractor's obligation to secure insurance under the Minute of Agreement between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Kilmarnock Prison Services Ltd for the Design, Construction, Management and Financing of a Prison at Kilmarnock .

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  No waiver has been given.

Prison Service

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-286 by Cathy Jamieson on 3 June 2003, whether it has at any time after 30 January 2003 provided any insurance in respect of HM Prison Kilmarnock; whether it currently provides any insurance in respect of the prison, and whether it will give details of any such insurance.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Scottish Executive has not provided and does not currently provide any such insurance.

Schools

Alex Fergusson (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-336 by Peter Peacock on 3 June 2003, whether it will define the phrase "commercial close".

Peter Peacock: Commercial close is the point at which a contract is signed between the party procuring a facility or service through a public private partnership and the party selected to provide that facility or service.

Scottish Natural Heritage

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has issued any directions to Scottish Natural Heritage under the Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act 1991; if so, whether it will specify under what circumstances each such direction was issued and place a copy of it in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre; if no such directions have been issued, what the reasons are for the position on this matter, and what its current policy is on such directions.

Allan Wilson: As with most non-departmental public bodies, an accounts direction has been issued to Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). This was issued under section 10 of the Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act 1991 and specifies the form in which SNH's annual accounts must be prepared. A copy of the direction has been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 27748).

Sectarianism

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress the cross-party working group on religious hatred has made in respect of alleviating sectarianism.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide long-term funding for tackling sectarianism.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Cross-Party Working Group on Religious Hatred published its report containing 12 non-legislative recommendations for public consultation on 5 December 2002. The consultation ended on 14 March 2003 and the responses are currently being analysed.

  The working group's report supported adjustment to the current legal framework in relation to religious hatred. Provisions on offences aggravated by religious prejudice are included in the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003, which will come into effect on 27 June 2003.

Sectarianism

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will undertake an anti-sectarian programme of education in schools.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive is opposed to religious intolerance and prejudice in any form.

  One of the National Priorities in Education is "to work with parents to teach pupils respect for self and one another and their interdependence with other members of their neighbourhood and society and to teach them the duties and responsibilities of citizenship in a democratic society". The curriculum already provides a range of opportunities for sectarianism to be addressed through citizenship education.

  The Scottish Executive, in partnership with Celtic and Rangers football clubs, is developing an education resource which will help in challenging sectarian attitudes among young people.

Special Educational Needs

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will now consider rucksack funding of children with special educational needs which follows the child throughout his or her education, in light of paragraph 4.44 of chapter 4 of the Auditor General's report Moving to mainstream - The inclusion of pupils with special educational needs in mainstream schools .

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive is planning to provide 35% more in additional grant funding next year than at present, lifting new annual spending to over £50 million per year, to support children with special educational needs. This funding, together with local government general revenue, allows education authorities to allocate resources according to the needs of children in their area. We have no plans to introduce rucksack funding.

Telecommunications

Iain Smith (North East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any police force or emergency service has withdrawn, or suspended, the use of terrestrial trunked radio communications equipment because of concerns about health risks to personnel or the public.

Cathy Jamieson: Terrestrial trunked radio communications equipment is not yet used by police or other emergency services in Scotland. I am not aware of any police force or emergency service elsewhere in the United Kingdom having withdrawn or suspended the use of such equipment because of concerns about health risks to personnel or the public.

Tourism

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what estimates it has made of how much it would have cost to establish visitscotland.com by means other than by public private partnership.

Mr Frank McAveety: Ministerial approval to the visitscotland.com joint venture partnership proposal in April 2002 was based on a detailed business case, the public version of which was placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre in October 2002 (Bib. number 27374). The business case covered a range of factors critical to the success of the joint venture, including a detailed value for money analysis that demonstrated a net financial gain for the public sector.

Waste Management

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give an update on its review of the water environment to meet the requirements of the urban waste water treatment regulations.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive has decided to retain all previously designated (14) sensitive areas, and additionally has designated nine rivers and one stretch of marine water. These have been identified as sensitive areas in accordance with the terms of the Urban Waste Water Treatment (Scotland) Regulations 1994. The additional sensitive areas have been identified because of eutrophication, or in order to meet the requirements of the Surface Waters (Fishlife) (Classification) (Scotland) Regulations 1997, or in order to meet the requirements of the Surface Waters (Shellfish) (Classification) (Scotland) Regulations 1997. In all cases, the consequences of the designations are that Scottish Water has to provide treatment in addition to the standard secondary biological treatment for significant sewage discharges into the catchments of these waters.

  For discharges into the River Don, additional phosphorus treatment is being provided at the Persley treatment works; for the other listed rivers discharges are being treated to reduce ammonia levels to protect freshwater fishlife. In the case of the coastal water from St Andrews round to Fife Ness, additional disinfection treatment has been put into place at the St Andrews discharge to protect the quality of the shellfish water. In all cases the additional treatment provides further protection to these designated waters, resulting in environmental benefits, and to allow the waters to meet relevant environmental quality standards.

  The River Don has been designated sensitive to combat eutrophication. River Isla, Teviot Water (lower), River Ettrick, River Tyne, River North Esk, South Calder Water, River Clyde (lower) and Black Cart Water have all been designated sensitive to protect fresh water for fish. St Andrews to Fife Ness has been designated to protect shellfish water.

  I am placing copies of maps, showing the location of these designated sensitive areas, in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 26935). Copies will also be deposited with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency for public inspection. My officials are sending a letter to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency requiring them to ensure, under their statutory powers, that compliance with discharge consent conditions which include tertiary treatment standards are met for discharge to an into the catchments of these sensitive areas. Additionally, my officials will publish a notice of the additional sensitive designations in the Edinburgh Gazette.

Wildlife

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish Natural Heritage has made any application for the introduction of the beaver; what information it has received about opposition to any such action from the National Farmers' Union Scotland, the Scottish Crofting Foundation and the Scottish Landowners' Federation; whether the introduction of the beaver will have adverse consequences and, if so, what its position is in respect of such consequences, and whether it will reject any such application.

Allan Wilson: Scottish Natural Heritage submitted an application in January 2002 to trial  a re-introduction of the European Beaver to Scotland at a specified site in Knapdale, Argyll.

  Concerns over possible consequences of a trial re-introduction have been received from a number of organisations and individuals. Potential adverse consequences need to be given full consideration before I can take a decision. I have asked Scottish Natural Heritage to let me have further information on their application.

Wildlife

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost to (a) it and (b) Scottish Natural Heritage has been of all work carried out in relation to the consideration and submission of any application in respect of the introduction of the beaver and what assessment it has made of value for money in respect of such costs.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive is required to respond to any application of this kind and costs relating to individual applications are not held separately.

  In relation to costs incurred by Scottish Natural Heritage, I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-449 on 10 June 2003. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.